Images of Old Hawaiʻi

by Peter T Young 1 Comment

Honolua, Maui

In northwest Maui, the district the ancients called Kaʻānapali, there are six hono (bays,) which are legendary:  from South to North, Honokowai (bay drawing fresh water), Honokeana (cave bay), Honokahua (sites bay,) Honolua (two bays), Honokohau (bay drawing dew) and Hononana (animated bay).

This area was likely settled between 600-1100 AD. By about the 15th century, all of Nā Hono were under the realm of Pi’ilani, the ruling chief of Maui, Kahoʻolawe, Molokai and Lānai.

During his reign, Piʻilani gained political prominence for Maui by unifying the East and West of the island, bringing rise to the political status of Maui.

Piʻilani’s power eventually extended from Hāna on one end of the island to the West, in addition to the islands visible from Honoapiʻilani – Kahoʻolawe, Molokai and Lānai.

Piʻilani (“stairway to heaven”) unified West Maui; his territory included the six West Maui bays (Nā Hono A Pi‘ilani,) a place he frequented with his court to relax, fish and surf.

One of these, Honolua, is the subject of this summary.

Settlement patterns of Honolua followed patterns elsewhere, permanent habitation around the coastal and near shore lands, as well as the inland Honolua valley land. The forested and ridge-top lands were used for gathering forest products, and for forest plantings of various utilitarian Hawaiian plants.

Ancient Hawaiian villages on Maui were generally placed at the mouths of the larger gulches or at least within sight of the sea. Both pre-contact and historic features have been identified in the coastal and nearshore lands region. It can be inferred that the coastal lands were settled since the pre-contact period and extensively used during the historic period.  (Cultural Surveys)

Piʻilani had two sons, according to legend, one of whom, Kihaʻaʻpiʻilani, surfed at Honolua Bay.

Kekaulike, a descendant of Piʻilani, later became chief. He had two sons, Kauhiʻaimoku a Kama and Kamehamehanui, who engaged in civil war.

Honolua Bay was a landing site for Peleʻioholani, ruling chief of Kauai and Oʻahu (mid- to late-1700s,) an ally of Kauhiʻaimoku a Kama. Warriors would convene at Honolua Valley, prior to traveling to Honokahua Bay.

Through the Māhele, the bulk of Honolua was awarded to William C Lunalilo (later King Lunalilo) on June 19, 1852.  In addition, kuleana lands were awarded to native tenants.

After Lunalilo’s death, his will established a trust to build a home to accommodate the poor, destitute and inform people of Hawaiian (aboriginal) blood or extraction, with preference given to older people.

Eventually, the land subsequently transferred several times, culminating with HP Baldwin in 1889.

Honolua (and neighboring Līpoa Point) was used in a variety of ways, coffee and cattle (Honolua Ranch, starting in late-1880s,) pineapple (Baldwin Packers and later Maui Land and Pineapple, starting in 1912,) an alternative airplane landing field (1920) and West Maui Golf Club (1926.)  Later, portions were included in the Kapalua Resort area (Kapalua Land Company, 1974.)

In 1946, a tsunami was generated by a magnitude 7.1 earthquake in the Aleutian Islands.  This tsunami struck Hawaiʻi on April 1st.  Wave run-up at Honolua was recorded at 24-feet, destroying coastal improvements.

Honolua Bay was the historic starting point for the Hōkūleʻa’s first trip to the South Pacific.  As part of the US Bicentennial, on May 1, 1976, Captain Kawika Kapahulehua and Navigator Mau Pialug, departed Honolua Bay for Papeʻete, Tahiti.

Mau navigated the leg to Tahiti with only his traditional knowledge and skills while the return leg was navigated using modern methods and tools.

Following the ill-fated 1978 capsizing of Hōkūleʻa, Nainoa Thompson successfully navigated a second voyage to Tahiti – a 6,000 mile round trip – with Mau on board in 1980.

In 1979, the Honolua-Mokulēʻia Marine Life Conservation District was established to conserve and replenish marine resources in Mokulēʻia and Honolua Bays.

With the protections and management through the Marine Life Conservation District, Honolua has some of the best snorkeling on Maui.

Today, on a good day, Honolua is reportedly one of the best surfing spots in the world.  Breaking wave heights associated with the largest north and northwest swells range between 10-20-feet near Honolua Bay.

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by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

1919 Alika Eruption

“Alika was a man and Hina was his wahine, and their occupation was farming. Before they would begin farming, they would vow that should their crops mature, they would consume it along with Pele, the god. But when the crops reached maturity, the two of them didn’t carry out their promise, and the day that they ate of their crops, that was when they soon died.”

“This is how it happened: Hina urged Alika to eat sweet potato, and so Alika went to dig up some, and after finding some, he baked it in the umu¹ until done and then they ate it all; then the forest began to speak as if it were a man, echoing all about them.”

“During which time, the man soon thought of their vow. Alika said to Hina, “We will die because of you,” and before he was done speaking, lava soon flamed forth and they perished.”

“And it is for this man that this land is called by that name until this day; if you look at the aftermath of the lava, in this area, the burnt homes of Kaupo stand jagged because of the spreading flames²; the land is horrid in appearance in every way; but the kamaaina love it here, and it is only the malihini who disparage it.” (Zalika, South Kona, Kuokoa, 8/7/1886)

“The greatest volcanic event in Hawaii for the year 1919 was the activity of Mauna Loa itself. It was no surprise to the unsleeping keeper of Kilauea and the Long Mountain.”

“That autumn, with its unruly flock of seismic disturbances, was a busy one for Professor Jaggar, who made more than one lofty ascent to the flaming pastures of his charge.”

“Back at Kilauea observatory, [Jaggar] noticed the fume and glow from Mauna Loa’s 13,675-foot crater, Mokuaweoweo, spreading to the southward along a route he knew well.”

“By telephone he warned Kapapala and the other districts in the course the flow would take. Many is the account I have listened to from residents of those sections who saw destruction looming far above, and who hurried to pack their belongings in preparation for flight.” (Charmian London)

On September 26, 1919, a vent high on Mauna Loa’s Southwest Rift Zone erupted for just a few hours. Three days later, a breakout lower on the rift zone erupted fountains of lava up to 400 ft high and sent a river of lava down the volcano’s forested slopes.

Within about 20 hours, an ‘a‘ā flow several hundred meters (yards) wide crossed the circle-island “Government Road” (predecessor of Highway 11), burying the small village of ‘Ālika (north of Miloli‘i). This flow can be seen today at Highway 11, mile markers 90–91. (USGS)

“Some thought they would go grey in a night, through the freaks played by the fluid avalanche, which would seem to skirmish in avoidance of an obviously doomed home. And I noticed a hesitance among these, as well as other island visitors who rushed to the ten-days’ wonder, about telling what they had seen.”  (Charmian London)

“‘It’s like this,’ they faltered. ‘We saw things that nobody would believe. How do we know? We tried it out when we got home. The thing was too big, too terrible, to impress those who had not seen it – in spite of the great smoke and glare that hid Hawaii from the other islands for days and days.”

“Why, I stood on the hot bank of that burning cascade, and saw bowlders as big as houses, I tell you, perfectly incandescent, go rolling down to the sea; and-but there I go. I don’t think you’d believe the things I could tell you.’” (Charmian London)

“The lava is creeping very slowly, but it is wiping out the koa forests and the ohia in its path; and the fine grazing lands are being covered, and the ranch land where the animals of a Portuguese man of Keei are kept, and whose name is John Deniz, is half covered over by blazing lava; the land owned by Mrs. Carrie Robinson of Honolulu also is land greatly covered by blazing lava.”

“In the estimation of Tom White and those who went up with him, the branch flowing to the sea of Opihali is almost 13 miles from the government road, and the branch flowing to the sea of Kaapuna is about eight miles from the government road, and the branch flowing to the sea of Papa of Honomalino perhaps has not at all reached the area called Puu Keokeo.”

“Because of the branching of the lava flow into three branches is one of the reasons for the great weakening of the flow, even if the flow from the caldera from the mountain side is very powerful.” (Hoku o Hawaii, 10/23/1919)

When the flow reached the ocean, “Noises were heard underwater of seething and of tapping concussions. The uprush of steam where the lava made contact with the sea carried up rock fragments and sand and built a black sand cone.”

“The lava ‘rafts’ or blocks of bench magma which rolled down the live channel, were seen to bob up, make surface steam, and float out some distance from the shore without sinking at first, as though buoyed by the hot gas inflating them. Lightnings were seen in the steam column.”

“There was much muddying of the water and fish were killed in considerable number…. For 50 or more feet out to sea from the base of the great column of vapor which was rising opposite the lava channel somewhere beyond …”

“… the water was dotted with small jets and sometimes a swirling “steam spout” or tornado effect, a foot or two in diameter, would rise from the water a few feet away from the main steam column and join the cloud above.”

“Sometimes a shower of small rock fragments each two or three inches in diameter would be jetted up from a place in the water close to shore, each projectile followed by a tail of vapor, to heights 15 or 20 feet above the sea.” (Jaggar, Moore & Ault))

“… the high fountains of lava, the great detonations of explosions, the lake of fire on the mountain, and the final plunge of the melt over old lava bluffs into the sea in a river speeding five to ten miles an hour. This red torrent coursed for ten days.”

“The heat of the stilled lava was not yet gone when, four months afterward, I motored upon it where it had crossed, a hundred yards wide, the highway in Alika district – a waste of aa as upstanding as the wavelet of a tide-rip, kupikipikio.”

“It had swept everything in its path, causing suffering, fear and death among the herds.”

“A temporary restoration of the highway was begun as soon as the heat had sufficiently cooled; but it made one nervous, in an inflammable vehicle, to see how a light shower caused the lava to steam, and to feel warmth still rising from crevices. ….”

“During the eruption there was a succession of short-period, shallow tidal waves ranging from three to fourteen feet in height.  These kept in trepidation the passengers on vessels of all classes that swarmed off shore.”

“An authentic tale is told of the wife of an islander being swept some distance off-shore by a subsiding tidal wave. Fortunately she was a swimmer.”   (Charmian London)

The 1919 ‘Ālika lava flow advanced 11 mi in about 24 hours, reaching the sea north of Ho‘ōpūloa, where it poured into the ocean for 10 days. The eruption then slowly waned until November 5, when all activity ceased. (USGS)

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Kīpahulu

The south-eastern section of the island of Maui, comprising the districts of Hāna, Kīpahulu, Kaupo and Kahikinui, was at one time a Royal Center and central point of kingly and priestly power.

This section of the island was prominent in the reign of Kekaulike, and has Maui’s largest heiau (Piʻilanihale Heiau – near Hāna.)  Others also seated their power here.

Long before the first Europeans arrived on Maui, Kīpahulu was prized by the Hawaiian aliʻi for its fertile land and abundant ocean.

The first written description of Kīpahulu was made by La Pérouse in 1786 while sailing along the southeast coast of Maui in search of a place to drop anchor:

“I coasted along its shore at a distance of a league (three miles) …. The aspect of the island of Mowee was delightful.  We beheld water falling in cascades from the mountains,  and running in streams to the sea,  after having watered the habitations of the natives,  which  are  so numerous  that a  space of  three or four leagues (9 – 12 miles, about the distance from Hāna to Kaupō) may be  taken for  a single village.” (Bushnell)

“But all the huts are on the seacoast, and the mountains  are so near, that the habitable  part of the island appeared to be less than half a league in depth.  The trees which crowned the mountains,  and the verdure of the banana plants that surrounded the habitations, produced  inexpressible  charms to our senses …”

“… but the sea beat upon the coast with the utmost  violence, and kept  us in the situation of  Tantalus,  desiring and devouring with our eyes what  it was  impossible for us to  attain … After passing Kaupō no more waterfalls are seen, and villages are fewer.” (Bushnell)

With the development of the whaling industry on the island in 1880s Kīpahulu population started to decline as people moved to main whaling ports, such as Lāhainā.

In the early-1900s, one of the regular ports of call for the Inter-Island Steam Navigation Company was Kīpahulu. Steamships provided passenger service around Maui and between the islands.

Kīpahulu Landing also provided a way for growers and ranchers to ship their goods to markets. Today the land where Kīpahulu Landing existed is private but protected with a conservation easement, overseen by the Maui Coastal Land Trust (now part of the Hawaiian Islands Land Trust.)

A famous Kīpahulu resident was Charles Lindbergh.  He was the first to make a solo nonstop flight across the Atlantic Ocean.  Other pilots had crossed the Atlantic before him; but Lindbergh was the first person to do it alone nonstop.

“Early in the morning on May 20, 1927 Charles Lindbergh took off in The Spirit of St. Louis from Roosevelt Field near New York City. Flying northeast along the coast, he was sighted later in the day flying over Nova Scotia and Newfoundland.”

“From St. Johns, Newfoundland, he headed out over the Atlantic, using only a magnetic compass, his airspeed indicator, and luck to navigate toward Ireland.”  (New York Times, May 21, 1927)

“On the evening of May 21, he crossed the coast of France, followed the Seine River to Paris and touched down at Le Bourget Field at 10:22 pm. … A frenzied crowd of more than 100,000 people gathered at Le Bourget Field to greet him. ”  (New York Times, May 21, 1927)

Lindbergh was introduced to Maui by his friend Sam Pryor, a Pan American Vice President and supporter of his flight across the Atlantic.  Having first visited Pryor’s home near Hana, Lindberg later acquired land next to him and built his house.

Lindbergh died of cancer on Aug. 26, 1974, in his home on Maui.  He was buried on the grounds of the Palapala Hoʻomau Church.  (Pryor died in 1985 and is buried there, too – as well as Sam’s six gibbons.)

Kīpahulu’s Palapala Hoʻomau Church started construction in 1857 and was completed in 1862; it was restored in 1965 (with a lot of help from Lindberg and Pryor.)

In January 2012, the Palapala Hoʻomau Preservation Society was created to care for the Church.  For many years, an endowment administered by the Hawai‘i Conference Foundation, set up by the Lindbergh and Pryor families, provided funds for maintenance and upkeep of the property.  (hcucc)

In recent years, the need for restoration work on the church has gone beyond what the endowment fund can provide.  Although there is no regular worshipping community at Palapala Hoʻomau, the historical significance of the church and graveyard, as well as the number of visitors who come to the property each year, led the Hawai‘i Conference Foundation to find a solution.  (hcucc)

Mike Love of the Beach Boys later bought the Lindberg home, a 5-acre estate, down a twisting, scenic road a few miles from Hāna.  Love also purchased the Pryor’s 14-acre adjacent site and house.  (Los Angeles Times, December 31, 1989)

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David Douglas

“David Douglas was born at Scone, near Perth, in 1799, being the son of John Douglas and Jean Drummond, his wife. His father was a stone mason, possessed of good abilities and a store of general information, rarely surpassed by persons in his sphere of life.”

“His family consisted of three daughters and as many sons, of whom, the subject of this notice was the second. At about three years of age he was sent to a school in the village … At the parish school of Kinnoul, kept by Mr. Wilson, whither he was soon sent, David Douglas evinced a similar preference to fishing and bird-nesting over book leaning …”

“His boyish days were not remarkable for any particular incidents. Like others at his time of life he was lively and active, and never failed of playing his part in the usual sports of the village. A taste for rambling, and much fondness for objects of natural history being, however, very strongly evinced.”

“From his earliest years nothing, it is said, gave Douglas so much delight as conversing about travelers and foreign countries, and the books which pleased him best were Sinbad the Sailor and Robinson Crusoe.”

“In the gardens of the Earl of Mansfield, he served a seven years’ apprenticeship, during which time it is admitted by all who knew him, that no one could he more industrious and anxious to excell than he was …”

“… his whole heart and mind being devoted to the attainment of a thorough knowledge of his business … he acquired the taste for botanical pursuits which he so ardently followed in after life.”

“Having completed the customary term in the ornamental department, he was moved to the forcing and kitchen garden, in the affairs of which he appeared to take as lively an interest as he had previously done in those of the flower garden.”

“Lee’s Introduction to Botany and Don’s Catalogue, his former text books, if they may be so termed, were now laid aside, and Nicol’s Gardener’s Calendar taken in their stead.”

Douglas was recommended “to Joseph Sabine, Esq., the Honorary Secretary of the Horticultural Society, as a botanical collector; and to London he directed his course accordingly in the spring of 1823.”

“His first destination was China, but intelligence having about that time been received of a rupture between the British and Chinese, he was despatched in the latter end of May, to the United States, where he procured many fine plants, including a large number of specimens of various oaks, and greatly increased the society’s collection of fruit trees.”  (Sir William Jackson Hooker; Wilson)

“David Douglas has no rival as a collector of Northwest plants. He introduced thousands of them to Europe, some 215 of which were new, and many were named for him. He noted 7,032 in totaling his mileage for the two years of his first expedition, April 1825-April 1827, and another time mentioned adding some 7,000 distinct species of flowering plants to the collection—a plant a mile, it might be said.”

Of note, “He laid in specimens of pinus taxifolia (Douglas fir) with pine cones which were eventually distributed to nurserymen and to fellows of the Horticultural Society to plant on their estates. He even sent samples (two planks 20 feet long) of this durable, tough, straight-grained wood that is unsurpassed in the qualities that render lumber most valuable.”

“It has become on the one hand, the world’s greatest structural timber—the most important tree in the American lumber trade—and on the other, the favorite Christmas tree in millions of homes.”

“Upon his return to London, (1827-1829) Douglas was feted and honored, and made a fellow of several learned societies. He wrote a number of professional papers and was given a “handsome offer” by John Murray for a book of his travels; his portrait was painted by Sir Daniel Macnee and hung at Kew.”

“For a time he enjoyed being a celebrity and the distinguished plant hunter, Mr. David Douglas. One of his great pleasures was to walk about the gardens of the Horticultural Society and see his flourishing seedlings.”

“But Douglas was soon impatient to be back at work, so the summer of 1830 he spent once more botanizing along the Columbia. The Indians these days were surly and becoming more war-like as they realized the white men had come to take their thousand-year-old homeland from them.”

“In December, Douglas went on to California, where he remained for 19 months. But in spite of much travel he had to note, ‘my whole collection this year (1830) in California was about 500 species, a little more or less. This is vexatiously small.’” (Gould; Vassar)

“It was while he was at Monterey that he acquired the title ‘Doctor.’ A boy had been injured, and there was no medical person in the area. Douglas was able to set the boy’s broken arm and so earned the title ‘Doctor.’” (Greenwell)

“In the summer of 1833 he went with a brigade to the Fraser River country and there had a disaster which seriously affected his eyes and his health. He had in mind a trip across Russia, botanizing byway of Sitka, but returning to Fort Vancouver he had an accident.”

“At the Stoney Islands (now Fort George Canyon) on the Fraser, his canoe was dashed to pieces while shooting the rapids. Douglas was in the whirlpool an hour and forty minutes before being washed unconscious onto the rocky shore.”

“He lost everything—notes—specimens and equipment. Sick and discouraged he took a ship via California for Hawaii.” (Gould) “In Hawai‘i, he was called kauka, the Hawaiian word for doctor.” (Greenwell)

“As Douglas recuperated from his rheumatism and eye troubles in Hawaii, he botanized again. In 10 days he had a ‘truly splendid collection’ of some 50 species. The giant ferns especially awakened his admiring comment.  In the crater of a volcano he found the Silver Sword plant which is named for him.”

“In his enthusiasm for Hawaii he wrote, ‘One day here is worth a year of common existence.’ It was while waiting for a ship to take him to England that Douglas met the Rev. John Diell. They enjoyed climbing and botanizing together and early in July agreed to meet in Hilo on the Island of Hawaii.”

“The morning of July 12, 1834, he was crossing the north side of Manna Kea, when about six in the morning he appeared at the hut of Ned Gurney who was an English runaway convict from Botany Bay.”

“After breakfast, Douglas walked for about three quarters of an hour along the path. Gurney claimed he had warned Douglas to watch out for three bull pits ahead.”

“It was a native custom to trap the wild long-horned Spanish cattle by digging pits and covering them with brush. Douglas passed safely by the three pits, then retraced his steps to the third pit. When some natives came by later in the morning, they first saw the feet of a man sticking out of a mass of rubbish and stones.”

“A bull was already entrapped in the pit and the angry beast was standing on the chest of the young plant-hunter. … A suspicion of murder became so strong that it was eventually decided to pack the body in salt and take it to Consul Charlton at Honolulu, on Oahu. There was considerable evidence. The horns of the bullock were blunt and could not make such deep gashes.”

“Thus ended 9 years of botanical adventure along the Pacific for David Douglas. His death at 35 is one of the tragedies of botanical history. But in his short span of life, as one scientist wrote …

“‘No other explorer personally made more discoveries, or described more genera or species. No other collector of rare plants ever reaped such a harvest or associated his name with so many economically useful and beautiful plants as David Douglas.’” (Gould; Vassar)

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by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Mystery on the Mauna

It started like any other day … post the latest summary, check comments on the website and Facebook, and review emails.  As is also typical, emails came in asking about the identity of a photo, map, or just a general history question.

Then, an interesting issue was raised about a post I did on rock walls. The question was, do I have any “knowledge about a structure at 11,000’ on Mauna Kea’s SW aspect. It’s a roughly rectangular wall, about five feet high with a perimeter of 3,300 feet.”

“I think of it as an exclosure because it has no openings. A single cedar tree stands near its upper corner – I believe it’s higher than any other on the mountain.”

That led to a frustrating series of inquiries with others trying to identify the “Rock Wall” (that was labeled as such on several old maps).  It is situated above the tree line.

It was a structure that I had never seen before and was not aware of.  And, the options of the who, what and why started to expand in the process – with no clear indication of an answer to any of those.

I reached out to several archaeologists and others who prepare cultural impact assessments for help.  My first response was from a notable archaeologist who said, “I know nothing specifically … there were at least some bottles/bottle fragments inside the enclosure.  Generally, there are several upland corral-like enclosures”.

Another early response from another archaeologist stated, “This feature is quite intriguing. Regrettably we have no information to provide, although the presence of the tree at the site suggests there may be a spring in that location. Springs are present around this elevation on other parts of the mountain.”

Corral, water … that led me to look into springs and ranching activities on the mountain.  I looked through some reports and found …

“Ka-houpo-o-Kāne (literally, The-bosom-of Kāne), is the sacred region of Mauna Kea (between the 10,000 – 11,000 foot elevation), in which are found the springs fed by Ka-wai-hū-a-Kāne; by a rivulet from Waiau to the head of Pōhakuloa Gulch.”  (Maly)

Ka Houpo o Kāne represents the springs of the island of Hawaii. (Vredenburg)  “The area identified as Ka-houpo-o-Kāne is situated below Waiau, on the southwestern slopes of Mauna Kea, in the land of Ka‘ohe.” (Maly)

Another study addressing the springs at Houpo O Kāne noted, “One section of the valley is isolated by the steep walls of thick lava flows, above and below which are stone walls built many years ago as a trap in, which to impound wild cattle that frequented the spring area. The last of the wild cattle have been killed, but a few skulls were to be seen in 1939.”

According to another study, “there is reason to believe that [the cattle trap] probably dates to the same period of time (ca. 1820 – 1850).”

To help us understand the early cattle experience on the mountain, William Ellis wrote, “[Goodrich] saw at a distance several herds of wild cattle, which are very numerous in the mountains and inland parts of the island, and are the produce of those taken there, and presented to the king, by Captain Vancouver.”

“They were, at his request, tabued for ten years, during which time they resorted to the mountains, and became so wild and ferocious, that the natives are afraid to go near them.”

“Although there are immense herds of them, they do not attempt to tame any; and the only advantage they derive is by employing persons, principally foreigners, to shoot them, salt the meat in the mountains, and bring it down to the shore for the purpose of provisioning the native vessels.”

“But this is attended with great labour and expense. They first carry all the salt to the mountains. When they have killed the animals, the flesh is cut off their bones, salted immediately, and afterwards put into small barrels, which are brought on men’s shoulders ten or fifteen miles to the sea-shore.” (Ellis, 1820s)

Back then, wild cattle (bullocks) were captured in pits (typically one at a time) or shot at with rifles (that then scared the rest away).  It was pretty inefficient.  Kamehameha III had Spanish vaqueros brought to the islands to teach the Hawaiians the skills of herding and handling cattle.

So, if this applied to the “Rock Wall,” I did more research into Hawai‘i’s early ranching efforts  … The vaqueros found the Hawaiians to be capable students, and by the 1870s, the Hawaiian cowboys came to be known as the “paniola” for the Espanola (Spanish) vaqueros who had been brought to the islands (though today, the Hawaiian cowboy is more commonly called “paniolo”).  (Maly)

“One of the most important contributions of the vaqueros was their introduction of the rawhide lasso.”  A report stated, “‘The use of the rawhide lasso drastically changed the movement of cattle closer to market and into confinement for eventual domestication.’”

“‘The Spanish method replaced the labor-intensive system of packing salt to the mountain and hauling kegs of salted beef (i‘a kōpī or pipi miko) back to the shoreline communities. As part of the method, the bullock was roped in the remote range, snubbed to a tree, and tethered snugly over a night or two for a cooling-off period. This process is called po‘owaiū by the paniolo.’”

“‘At the appropriate time, usually at daybreak, the bullock was shorn of his horn tips (‘oki hau), and then led (alaka‘i) by a single head rope or two to a central corral. These corrals were often located at a rudimentary camp or village (kauhale).’” (Bergin; Cultural Surveys)

As part of an oral history project, some of the ‘old time’ Parker Ranch employees were interviewed; one stated, “When you’re looking from here it’s all mountain, but when you get up there it’s nice big flats and hollows, it’s cinders. The old people used to make traps, Pāloa, and they used to drive, mainly horses. Hit the sand and it goes right down to the corrals.”

More corral reference … was this one of those corrals?

Throughout this investigation, I had in the back of my mind the CCC.  My oldest map noting the “Rock Wall” was dated 1937.  That meant there was a possibility that the wall could be associated with Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC).

After a decade of national prosperity in the Roaring Twenties, Americans faced a national crisis after the Crash of 1929. The Great Depression saw an unemployment rate of more than twenty-five percent in the early 1930s.  (pbs)

To make work, Franklin D Roosevelt proposed in his New Deal (1933) the creation of “a Civilian Conservation Corps, to be used in simple work, not interfering with normal employment, and confining itself to forestry, the prevention of soil erosion, flood control and similar projects.”


It was estimated that 8 to 10 percent of Hawaiʻi’s young men were enrolled by the Civilian Conservation Corps during its tenure from 1934 to 1942. There were CCC camps on Oʻahu, Maui, Kauai, the island of Hawaiʻi and Molokai. (Honolulu Star-Bulletin, NPS)

One of those project sites was at Pōhakuloa. Seven cabins were built around the base of the mountain at the present location of Gilbert Kahele Recreation Area run by the County (formerly, the Mauna Kea State Park.)

In the 1930s, the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) undertook fencing, road building and visitor facilities on Mauna Kea.  The CCC built a stone cabin at Hale Pōhaku, which gained its name (house of stone) from that structure. The cabin at Hale Pōhaku provided a shelter for overnight hikers, hunters and snow players.

This fit in with the timeline, based on the mapping I had … however, this alternative was soon dropped, as I found a 1926 USGS ‘Ahumoa’ mapping that showed the “Rock Wall,” (suggesting it was probably not part of a Civilian Conservation Corps project).  But that did not explain the who, what and why.

I literally shot-gunned my request for information – I sent out lots of email requests, seeking information. I followed up on every recommended reference. No clear indication came up, until …

Mystery solved … the Hawai‘i District Manager from DLNR-DOFAW responded in an email saying, “I reached out to some of our retired foresters, Charlie Wakida, Ernest Pung and Libert Landgraf. “

“Charlie and Ernie thought it was for experimental plantings.  Libert did as well, and said that LW Bryan had the exclosure made in the late 20’s or early 30’s to exclude feral sheep and plant different trees.  He said Bryan had experimental plantings at various locations on Mauna Kea.” (Hawaii Branch Manager, DLNR-DOFAW)

Leicester Winthrop ‘Bill’ Bryan, a native of Boston, Massachusetts, reached Hawaii’s shores shortly after World War I; he was a forester on the Island of Hawai‘i.

“He supervised planting of more than 10 million trees island-wide, preservation of scores of endangered plants, introduction of hundreds of exotic plant species, establishment of arboreta. He helped develop the island’s network of weather stations, its parks.” (UPI)

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